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It’s one of the incomprehensible Biblical miracles. One of those moments in history we have to let truly, “sink” in at the enormity of it.

Most of us, and if you’re like me hate the storms of life and especially getting stuck in the middle of one. The disciples were in a boat at the 3am hour, (why on earth would anyone want to be fishing at such a time I don’t know) and the storm approached with a vengeance. The winds roared. The waves crashed the boat and the sky lit up with lightning. A death watch.

But then….a man comes out of nowhere walking on the water. Of course they reacted as we would have with total fear of a ghost. Once they realized it was their beloved Jesus, Peter wants to go to him. As Jesus instructed, Peter stepped out on the water and began the walk of his life.

This walk has become famous. The line, “walking on water” has been used as a metaphor, comparison or a figure of speech in many conversations. It probably has been spoken by those who don’t even believe it.

I read today from Rev. Heather Butler these words about Peter’s legendary steps.

“Are you in the boat, is the storm raging, the Lord calls you to come, the wind and the waves are not an obstacle to you… Jesus didn’t change the molecular structure of the waves to accommodate Peter, rather He changed Peter the man and enabled him to accommodate the Word… The truth of the Word was the stepping stones that paved the wave for Peter to step out upon a pathway that led to Jesus.”

Did you get that?

Jesus didn’t change the storm; he changed Peter. Jesus gave Peter what he needed to do. He gave him what His word said.

He assisted Peter to do the impossible. He told him what to do. He gave Peter a promise that if he would come to Him walking on the water, Jesus would take care of him.

But why didn’t Jesus just respond to Peter’s request with, “Hey Peter, I’ll join you guys in the boat?”

That would’ve been too easy. It wouldn’t have been a life lesson. And what would history be without this story?

Jesus gave Peter a test while his friends watched with bated breath.

A test to keep his eyes fixed on His Lord, or sink.

Does this sound familiar?

It’s been the story of my life especially for the last 5 years.

Instead of God stopping the storms of our lives, he leaves the rage all around us to do what?

For Him to show up.

You can’t have a miracle without a crisis.

You can’t get a fix for that crisis without Jesus.

And the bottom line is none of us, can get through a moment without God.

Peter had to depend on Jesus.

It was either a dependence to keep on walking or that Jesus would catch him if he began to sink.

Peter did both. Just like we do.

When you’re going through hell, keep going.

Just make sure you know who you’re looking at while you’re going through it.

These self-imposed flattery events are just that….filled with Hollywood elites who have lost touch with what is really important.

They are no longer ads for future actor’s roles but platforms to spew hate and vitriol towards anyone who disagrees with them. Fortunately, the ratings have dropped to the lowest in years but it is bothersome that still over 30 million people glue themselves to such a waste of time.

In case you haven’t figured it out I don’t watch them. The only reason I am writing about it is to sign in on the other side.

I use to wonder if Oscar knew how he was being treated…Does he have any idea who filters through the auditorium of red carpet celebrities just to win Oscar, take him home and sit him on shelf to collect dust.

Does Oscar and his many friends have any clue the funneled money of fashion, jewelry, fancy cars and gifts could be used otherwise?

Melt him down and he could aid in what many of these entertainment communities fight so hard for….such as; (that is without using their own personal finances)

All these are worthy to be recognized as needing help. However the Hollywood crowd is very political in who they choose to support. While Matt Damon and George Clooney play shoot-em-up-cowboy with guns and rifles they yell and scream at anyone else who uses those weapons as self-defense backing up any politician who agrees with them to pursue gun control.

While stars believe abortion is a right not a life, they promote those who are medically trained in such murder.

While many in the acting/music industry believe anyone who doesn’t agree with their politics is intolerant, they use these platforms to bash our new President and anyone who supports him. HUH?

But what about the other people. You know. The Americans who really deserve awards?

First Responders: Police, Firefighters, Paramedics, Rescuers

Missionaries

Hospital workers, Doctors, Nurses

Pastors

Sunday school teachers

Private education

Military/Veterans

My aunt and uncle were missionaries to Mexico many years ago. The major earthquake that hit was not far from where they lived. We didn’t know for weeks if they survived. She later told me how it devastated the already poor country.

My cousin, their daughter was in Banja Luka, Bosnia when it was at war. She hid in a friend’s apartment for weeks just to stay alive. She taught English and Spanish at the University there helping many students grow in education as a missionary who also brought many of them to Christ.

Presently my cousin and his family, their son have moved to Germany and are ministering to many Muslim refugees. It is a dangerous calling; one which he has to keep private.

And then there is our military which really hits home with me. Living near one of the largest Jet Fighter Training bases in the world for almost 10 years has given me a whole new perspective of what sacrifice means.

A Major, told me a few years ago after being deployed to Iraq for 12 months he was, “so glad to get home because he was tired of getting shot at.”

My next door neighbor who has since retired and moved away was a pilot for 20 years. He flew every aircraft available and served in many operations. He would not talk about it.

Our neighbor now is in the new division of Army personnel at this base since President Obama shut one down in Atlanta a few years ago. His job is deciphering intelligence. As I probed him a few weeks ago for any information I thought I could get, all he responded with was, “There is a whole lot going on in the world right now.” He spoke it with a very strong sense of concern.

So again I ask, Oscar who?

As Americans where are our priorities?

Oscar and his friends probably would like to be more useful.

Instead of a superstar’s reflection of their own past achievements in a comfortable, protected environment, maybe we should be celebrating and supporting those who are the real heroes who live and work daily in life or death circumstances.

Then Oscar and his friends can throw out that can of Pledge.

Isaiah 58:10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

Technology is mind boggling and necessary in our modern society but like many advances it comes with its problematic issues.

Never mind the Linksys router we’ve been using for years wasn’t on my radar for radical change; like buying a new one. After a morning of endless paperwork especially taxes on my laptop all of a sudden I had no internet connection. Our daughter confirmed she had none either so through numerous channels of communication discovered the router had finally died.

Net Gear found a new home re-connecting us not only to the internet but giving us a better signal all over the house.

The next day, I continued my journey with our taxes only to realize the printer wasn’t connected wirelessly so I couldn’t print anything. Ugh.

I am by no means a computer whiz, but after 20 years using these devices I have learned one or two things. Remembering how it was connected using my laptop before I began the process.

A few hours later, pulling my hair out as to why it wasn’t working, I sat on the phone twice with Net Gear for 20 minutes each waiting for the free tech support that came with our purchase. No agent ever answered. The next option was a chat online which resulted in the agent telling me this wasn’t a Net Gear problem but a printer problem. So much for free support. I’m sure this agent was well qualified to figure out the problem but chose otherwise making it a service warranty marketing tactic instead. Not buying it.

Frustration began to take over so I quit working on it punishing myself for not being able to do what appeared to be easy. Sitting down for a rest, I prayed.

“God, I know you know the printer isn’t connected and I need to use it. Please help or send me someone who knows how to do this. Thank you.”

Honestly, 10 minutes later my doorbell rang.

My next door neighbor who never comes to our door, and is one of my tenants was standing there. He’s an Army man and asked about their lease making sure they could remain in the house until 2018 when he would get his orders to move.

“I will speak to the owner but see no problem with that. Only right now I couldn’t even print you out a lease because my printer isn’t connected to our new router.”

An hour later he diagnosed the problem. The printer needed to rest so he told me to try the next day repeating what he had done. Informing him of how I had beaten myself up over this lack of knowledge he said they have IT people specifically trained at the base that spend their time all day long identifying problems with their computer systems which is how he knew what to do. And for the record it wasn’t anything I had seen before.

After he left, I thanked God.

There is no doubt in my mind God sent him to my door.

There is no doubt God knew this man would answer my need.

There is no doubt this was a Divine Connection God set up.

God wants to be a part of every area in our lives but we have to ask and communicate our needs to Him most of the time before He will answer. There have been times in my life when I didn’t even know I had a need and God supplied it without me having any idea it was coming. He did that because I was so focused on what was so vitally important to begin with that He took care of that which was completely out of my control.

Our relationship with Christ is the key here. When the lines of communication are open 24/7 with God, not only does He supply, surprises become a fringe benefit. He also protects us from that which we don’t know we need protecting from.

I commune with God off and on all day long, every day. It’s like a never ending conversation. Little prayers like, “God help me with this,” or “God what is your take on this particular subject” go a long way. And as always, He loves it when our gratitude is also never ending. Being thankful to God is like making deposits in a bank account that just keeps growing.

Knowing God intimately produces love, healing and peace which often leads to answers to crucial questions we may have along the way. Even questions that may seem trivial.

In all my 62 years on this earth I have never known people to be so mean and hateful.

Sure, there have always been bullies but not to the extent there is today. It has become extreme and belligerent.

As one who was always smaller than most of those in my class age group, I was picked on a lot. Many gave me nicknames like, “little bit” or “shorty’ or “redhead” but it was rare the accusations were directed to annoy or offend me. That isn’t the case today.

We have become a society of loathing and abhorrence because of a lack of discipline, not to mention the enemy has been on a roaring rampage for decades. That’s no excuse. We have to change this hostile atmosphere.

My daughter was going through a lot during her younger years. As a child of a single parent in an area where divorce had not hit to the high percentage rates of today, she was bullied by a classmate. She was only 6 or 7 when this young girl began insulting and tormenting her along with a few of her miserable friends. For a while, I paid little attention to her complaints. As time passed, it was quite noticeable she wasn’t making any of this up.

My concern grew to a breaking point when I would pick her up from school only to find her crying. She was already dealing with enough without the harassment of an obviously spoiled and jealous child.

The next day I called the principal and asked to meet with her teacher along with the student in question. The appointment was made for that afternoon.

The teacher, appeared to have no idea at all this had been happening. In fact, she made it clear to me this child I was accusing was a perfect student with top grades but so was my daughter. Only my daughter wasn’t hateful and mean to the other students. The bully watched me speaking to her teacher with total dread in her eyes.

She knew she had been caught. It was apparent she played the innocent, sweet child with the teacher but treated others with distaste and mockery when the teacher wasn’t around.

I made it clear to the teacher what wasn’t going to happen any more and if it did there would be consequences for her and the student. The teacher allowed me to speak directly to the bully. She sheepishly approached me as I laid the groundwork for future classes with my daughter and that she would never again speak to her much less bully her. I told her I knew exactly what she was doing and to stop it immediately. I told her I would not hesitate to call her mother and inform her of her obstinate behavior and get a restraining order against her. The child left the room with the fear of God in her by the time I finished. The teacher was very appreciative of my visit but also quite aware that I meant business.

That child never bothered my daughter again.

For years, many childish bullies like this one have been getting away with their distasteful rhetoric and in some cases violence. We have laws that haven’t been enforced but should be that would help close the door on such vile conduct.

The decision I made to handle this the way I did, came about after much prayer and seeking God for answers as to how to deal with it. As a nation, we need to be searching God’s heart for His guidance to find solutions to steer people in His direction.

NO one gets away with anything. Any maybe that needs to be preached on every street corner in America.

“The Patriots comeback is a confirmation of the comeback for America I began on November 8th, 2016.”

My entire mindset changed.

Thanking God for his goodness and mercy, the Super Bowl took on a whole new meaning. It wasn’t about a game, or a halftime show or who won or lost.

It was about God showing up in one of the most watched TV programs of the year and making a statement about Himself.

It was about how for some reason God likes football???????

It was about how God can use any format to deliver his messages.

But mostly He was telling me to be hopeful about America. He was letting me know He has plans for this country that are for good and not evil, for a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) He heard and listened to our prayers; from those of us who for years have been on our knees crying out for forgiveness to heal our land.(2 Chronicles 7:14)

No matter how bad it looks right now with all the protests, vandalism and criminal behavior, God is reforming our nation to be a leader for other nations for His kingdom. He is literally shaking the evil to root it out. The enemy will continue his battles but once again, he has been dealt a huge blow.

Whether you want to believe it or not God showed up in a huge way on November 8th, 2016.

The tables turned in America to set the stage for worldwide change and restoration.

God intervened and put Donald Trump in the White House. I believe the many praying people like myself for this country hit Heaven and God answered by changing the course of history as He has done before. This in no way means there won’t be many battles, because there will, but evil took a beating. This in no way means that America and the world can be saved through Donald Trump and his administration, but God uses us, people to get His work done. The key here is to continue praying for God’s will to be performed.

In less than a week, this President has done more good for America than all the 8 years of the Obama administration. There is no doubt President Trump means business and not as usual.

The last few years for me have been the worst in my life. However, my relationship with God has never been more solid or real. God does reach us more often in our own darkness only to shed light for us to spread.

Bringing that up, it is in reference to the many past decades of America declining into what seemed like an abyss of deception, lies and wickedness. Maybe, there is a connection.

December 31, 2016 at 3pm in the afternoon, as I was trying to recover from a nasty sinus infection I felt a “shift.” Reading of others who had had “shifts” I had been praying for one myself. All of a sudden the atmosphere seemed to change around me. It was almost tangible as if I knew that me and this country had left the old, unpleasant revolt and moved into an ambiance of Heaven.

I won’t deny the attacks have still been heavy but it’s definite a change has occurred. This may sound silly but watching the inauguration made me feel better about a lot of things. It gave me a sense of hopefulness that we are now on God’s track.

Evil has truly reared its ugly head since November 8th. I suppose the devil is very unhappy about the outcome of the election; an outcome many didn’t see coming. But I did.

When you get and remain close to God, He unveils and reveals future events, etc. It may not be in an audible tone, or written in the sky, but when you read God given words and pray, He will speak to your heart. It’s that “knowing” which highlights God stepping in and shaking things up.

In this “shift” I see America coming to the forefront of many issues that will be overturned, changed or completely removed. The following are some of those issues that will be affected but only as we keep praying for God to move to do as He sees fit.

Abortion: Planned Parenthood will be shut dow. Exodus 20: You shall not Murder.

Military: Our armed forces will be shifted into fighting mode because we have to ward off ISIS and other terrorists organizations. Reinstatements of funds and necessary tactical equipment will be renewed and enforced. Presently the Air Force is looking at 4 bases, one of which is Shaw AFB near me that will produce over 400 pilots to man the “Reaper” aircraft. It is a remotely piloted aircraft with the ability to perform missions, tasks, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, close air support, combat search and rescue, precision strike and numerous other offensive needs to ward off the enemy. Psalm 144:1 Praise be to the Lord my Rock who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.

Tax Relief which is already being addressed will aid in restoring finances to people who
will use it wisely.Luke 3:11: “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

Reinstatement of our police and first responders. Crime will not pay. 1 Peter 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.

Our veterans will be given the honor and care they so deserve. Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Public Education will be overhauled because it cannot sustain itself as it is. God will be brought back into the schools. Proverbs 22:6 “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

Oil and energy production in America and Israel will be discovered so that both countries will be independent of foreign producers. In fact I believe God will produce energy in Israel as a means of protection. Job 24:11“Within the walls they produce oil.

Medical breakthroughs. Pharmaceutical companies will beheld accountable and must allow life saving medicines in America. Isaiah 53:5 “By Jesus stripes we are healed.”

America will once again be a God given ally to Israel restoring the relationship in a greater capacity than it has been in years. Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Immigration. We are not obligated to take everyone in to America. We must enforce a process to check those who wish to live here. If a person is unquestionably criminal they should not be allowed to step foot on our soil. A young man in his 20’s is much more of a risk than someone in their 80’s. Children can be brought in for adoption depending on individual situations. Romans 13:1–7 makes it abundantly clear that God expects us to obey the laws of the government. The only exception to this is when a law of the government forces us to disobey a command of God (Acts 5:29). Illegal immigration is the breaking of a government’s law. There is nothing in Scripture that contradicts the idea of a sovereign nation having immigration laws. Therefore, it is rebellion against God to unlawfully enter another country. Illegal immigration is a sin.

Along the line of immigration is Gun control. Simply put, we have the right by the Constitution and the Bible to protect ourselves.
Luke 11:21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.

Many times what we see in front of us is the grass that appears to be a plush green. What’s on the other side is the greener hill we have ignored out of our own choosing. Why?

Because we would have to change. Admit we were wrong. Humble ourselves. Knock down our own pedestals. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to eat my own words.

Smokescreens pop up everywhere; a fog like mask specifically designed to hide something.

The key is to know how to determine the difference between the smokescreens and the truth.

“You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

Aldous Huxley said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you mad.” He may have a point here; at least in some cases.

Jesus made the Pharisees mad over and over.

Jesus made the retailers mad for turning over their tables.

Jesus made his own people, the Jews mad because he claimed to be God.

Why is this so?

The truth isn’t what people want to hear. And they don’t want to hear it especially from people who are prophetic, or know God differently they than do.

A prime example of this is King David and the Prophet Nathan.

In II Samuel 12, God sent the Prophet Nathan to David. The story goes that the two argued quite loudly. David didn’t like what Nathan was saying and Nathan let him know in no uncertain terms he had deeply sinned against God. As a result of David’s sin of adultery and murder his household was wounded, scarred and a heartbreaking mess. Does anyone hear this? Can anyone relate?

You may ask, “Who is this guy Nathan and what could he possibly know?”

Well, he knew God. He was appointed by God as a Prophet to one of the most valuable characters of the Bible; one who would carry the bloodline of the Messiah.

David was young and stupid. Stubborn. Willful. Arrogant. These negative, obstinate characteristics blinded him from God’s truth and what he knew was God’s will. Why?

Because he wanted what wasn’t his.

He lied to cover up the original lie so he could keep what wasn’t his.

He allowed his Kingly appointment to believe he could get away with whatever he wanted.

WRONG!

No position will ever allow any of us to get whatever we think we want. What “appears” to be a season of achieving our greedy desires is only a smokescreen for the truth and will eventually end. That ending usually follows with unbearable consequences.

God is always speaking to us; through His word, nature, people and most importantly the Holy Spirit. God speaks in more ways than are countable because He is a creative God.

Maybe if we started listening we would know when, what and how He is speaking.

Ask God to speak to you. Read the Bible. Pray. Open your heart and ears to His voice and allow Him to share Himself with you.

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